Manufacture of telegraph-conductors



(No Model.)

A. -A. OOWLES.

MANUFACTURE OF TELEGRAPH OONDUUTORS. No. 810,258. Patented Jan. 6,1885.

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/ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALFRED A. COWLES, OF NEIV YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO THE ANSONIA BRASS AND COPPER COMPANY, OF ANSONIA, CONNECTICUT.

MANUFACTURE OF TELEGRAPH-CONDUCTORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 310,258, dated January 6,1885.

(No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED A. COWLES, of the city and State of New York, have invented an Improvement in Telegraphic Conductors, of which the following is a specification.

It is well known that the joints in telegraphic or telephonic conductors ofl'er considerable resistance, and are a source of in- IO jury to the transmitting power or capacity of the conductors. \Vires of copper are very strong and well adapted to use as electric conductors, but the joints offer considerable resistance to the current where such joints 1 5 are soldered or the heat softens the metal and lessens its strength. With twisted joints the metal is liable to crystallize and break, and it is difficult to make the conductors of any considerable length, because of the difficulties experienced in rolling long lengths. To overcome these difiiculties, and to obtain a continuous uniform wire of great length and of uniform strength and conductivity, is the object of my present invention.

I manufacture the wire in the ordinary manner up to the last annealing operation prior to the final drawing, which is to reduce the wire to the proper size. It is preferable to anneal the wire in the ordinary coils, as it is more easily handled. I provide a drum capable of holding wire to whatever extent desired, as my improvement is designed to make in one continuous length a coil of wire that is as large as can be handled. I wind one coil upon the drum and bring together its lastend and the first end of another coil, and join them by silver soldering the ends together by an electric are or by an oxyhydrogen blow-pipe or otherwise, and the ends being cut diagonally to form a lapjoint, and smoothing the wire where the ends are united, so as to make the wire of uniform size, or nearly so. The next coil is then wound on the drum and another length united, and so on until the required amount of wire has been joined up and wound upon the drum. After this has been done the wire is drawn through dies in the ordinary manner, and reduced to the proper size by one or more drawing operations, and

the wire is uniform in size, strength, stiffness,

and conductivity. I remark that the quantity of wire thus joined up into one piece must not be greater than the drawing-dies are capable of operating upon without wearing out. 5

As electric conductors are usually placed upon poles adjacent to railway-tracks, the wire can be reeled off in great lengths frour a car upon such track, thus almost entirely dispensing with joints in the conductors.

The details of the means for uniting the ends of the wires are reserved for a separate application.

The mass of wire, after the rolled or drawn rods have been joined up, may be annealed as ofien as necessary between the various drawing operations; but usually it is the most convenient to join up the lengths of annealed wire and finish the same by the drawing operations.

In the drawing I have represented a coil of wire, I), with its first end adjacent to the last end of the wire that has been wound upon the drum a, said ends of wire being in position for beingjoined by brazing, welding, or otherwise, as heretofore described.

I am aware that the ends of iron wires and rods have been welded together and the wire wound and placed in a furnace to be annealed, from which the wire is drawn and passes through dies or other reducing devices. I therefore lay no claim to the same.

I claim as my invention 1. The method herein specified ofmanufacturing copper electric conductorsof great length and of uniform strength and conductivity, consisting in uniting the diagonally-cut ends of lengths of wire by silver solder, and then drawing the wire down to the proper size and stiffness, substantially as set forth.

2. A copper telegraphic conductor of uniform strength and conductivity and of great length in which the joints between the lengths of wire are of silver solder and the wire harddrawn, substantially as set forth. 9 5

Signed by me this 22d day of January, A.

ALFRED A. COlVLES.

Witnesses:

GEO. T. PINoKNEY, WILLIAM G. Morr. 

